Pregnancy Anemia, the most commonly suffered condition by women; is really a big issue in pregnancy. It not only affects the health of the females itself but also the child can have medical issues. It is crucial to overcome Pregnancy iron deficiency or low HB for delivering a healthy baby.
There are certain medicines which are recommended to take orally and also some are injected via injections in the body to cure low HB levels.
Thankfully, due to the awareness in females these days; they want to cure the condition naturally with iron rich food by avoiding all these medications.
Read this blog to have a detailed overview of
what is anemia?
Why it becomes an issue in pregnancy?
And how to cure low HB to lead a healthy pregnancy.
What is anemia??
Anemia generally means the “lack of blood” in the body.
Human body is composed millions of cells which work in the presence of oxygen to generate energy.
Red blood cells have a protein “Hemoglobin” which is the carrier of oxygen from lungs to the cells of whole body via blood circulation.
Accurate number of red blood cells is necessary to serve oxygen to the body cells.
Iron is the main component of hemoglobin protein, when iron deficiency occur in the body ,definitely the production of hemoglobin reduces and so less the count of red blood cells. This low HB count tells the condition of the patient.
Why anemia is more common in pregnancy?
In pregnancy, the amount and flow of the blood increases in women body to carry fetal development (fetal blood circulation also starts). So,there is more need of iron to take for more blood volume and good supply of oxygen to the fetal tissues also.
This increased supply leads to the low blood condition “anemia” in pregnancy in majority of females specially in those who already do not have good iron levels in the body.
Pregnancy anemia may occur in some females who are ignorant to their diet balance, Due to more nausea and vomiting, they becomes an anemic patient in pregnancy easily.
Symptoms of Pregnancy Anemia
The symptoms of Pregnancy anemia can vary depending on the severity and health of the female. There are some common symptoms felt by pregnant women:
1- Fatigue or weakness
Blood deficiency or anemia causes weakness, which sometimes can be even identified from the face or body gestures. Moreover, Pregnancy iron deficiency intensify the condition.
2- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Breathing shortness is also one of the most common sign of pregnancy anemia.
Women feels congestion inside the chest.
3- Rapid or irregular heartbeat
Heartbeat is felt more rapid for most of the time, even when do not doing any activity.
4- Pale skin
Skin tone may changes to light yellowish, specially inside of the mouth, eyelids, or on nail beds when having pregnancy iron deficiency.
5- Cold hands and feet
Women may feels her hand and feet always cold or numbed when have pregnancy anemia.
Some other signs are:
Headache
Chest pain
Reduced ability to exercise
Difficulty concentrating or brain fog
Dizziness or lightheadedness
It is important to note that some people with mild Pregnancy anemia may not experience any noticeable symptoms, while others with severe pregnancy iron deficiency may experience more severe symptoms.
Low HB diagnosis with medical lab test
There are some medical tests available to identify blood deficiency in the body which can help to diagnose pregnancy anemia.
A most common and economical blood test is to check “hemoglobin”.
Blood Hb test tells you about your recent blood cell estimate. It is performed time to time in pregnancy to diagnose low hb in pregnancy.
How to overcome Pregnancy iron deficiency?
Above discussed symptoms of Pregnancy anemia are enough to have a guess that you may are the victim of this condition.
If you are facing any of these issues, you may not delay to have a consultation appointment by a professional gynecologist.
If pregnancy iron deficiency is diagnosed at the start, it is very easy to overcome it with the help of iron rich food. But if the condition reaches to severity, there must be some iron supplements to take daily as prescribed by the doctor along with iron rich food.
IF you are having regular checkups by the start of the pregnancy, your doctor assess your health condition at the start and recommends you to take iron rich foods or advise you to have iron supplements.
Many women are now much conscious and know how to lead a healthy pregnancy. They want to adapt natural things and avoid medicines as much as possible.
There are the following food items which can be made a part of regular diet to fulfill pregnancy iron deficiency.
1- Iron rich food
Consuming foods that are rich in iron can help a lot in maintaining mild anemia condition.
They include
red meat
chicken
fish
beans
lentils
spinach
fortified cereals
Eating small and frequent iron rich food meals throughout the day can help improve digestion and absorption of nutrients.
Eating more quantity at a single may lead to stomach upset and also there are the chances of less iron absorption. You may make a schedule of all these items to have a regular part of your diet.
Click here to read in detail about dietary supplements.
2- Folate rich food
Folate is an important nutrient for the production of red blood cells to overcome pregnancy iron deficiency.
Good sources of folate can help generate more red blood cells.
Folate rich foods include leafy green vegetables, legumes, nuts, and fortified cereals.
Boost your iron absorption to fulfill Pregnancy iron deficiency
By having the foods which are rich in vitamin C, pregnancy anemia recovery becomes easy.
Some good sources of vitamin C include oranges, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, and lemon.
All these are commonly available food items.
If you are a tea or coffee lover, you may have to control yourself for some months as they hinder the absorption of iron in the body. It is recommended that at least do not take them with meals or immediately after meals.
Iron supplements to cure pregnancy anemia
Mild iron supplements may also be taken if you are already an iron deficient women.
Because pregnancy iron deficiency will get increase with time.
To avoid heavy treatment at the end, it is better to include an iron supplement along with consuming iron rich food, at least from the start of second trimester.
Proper management of pregnancy iron deficiency is crucial to ensure the health of both the mother and the developing fetus.
